Broken Arm
by 2originalcents
Summary: No one wants to sign Zeke's cast, which leaves him feeling blue. (Zeke/Gene)


Zeke came to school with his fifth broken arm, and everyone had lost their wonder in his injuries. No one even cared to sign his cast, but it didn't bother him, because no doubt his best friend, Jimmy Jr, would eagerly sign his cast. But as he went searching for him, he was nowhere to be found. He searched for him by his locker, the boys' bathroom, and near homeroom, but the only people in class were the girls, Tina, Jocelyn, and Tammy.

"Hey, have any of you seen J Joo?" Zeke asked, walking and taking his own seat. "I need him to sign my cast."

"He has a dentist appointment, but he'll be here after lunch," Tina told him. "He's getting his teeth clean so he can keep up his award winning smile."

"It's so creepy that you know that," Tammy said.

"Yeah," Jocelyn chimed in.

"Sorry I just pay attention when people speak and I don't have my face buried in a hand mirror," Tina retorted.

"What was that?" Tammy asked. She hadn't been paying attention, she was distracted as she tried to get a eyelash from her eye, her hand mirror in hand.

"Well would you girls want to sign my cast, then? I usually give him first pick, but since he's not here, it's his lost," Zeke said, holding out a sharpie with his broken arm.

"I wish I could Zeke, but I have to sign your casts so often I'm starting to get carpal tunnel," Tammy said, putting away her things.

"Yeah, my hand is killing me too," Jocelyn said.

"But I'm the one with the broken arm!" Zeke argued, but the two girls had turned away from him. He sighed and turned to Tina, "Well, T-bird?"

"Normally I would, Zeke, but I'm starting to worry that I'm just enabling your self-destructive behavior by giving you attention when you get hurt. So for your own good, I'm going to have to refrain from signing your cast," Tina said.

Zeke opened his mouth in protest, but that was when the teacher walked in. Class had started and he looked down at his blank cast and frowned. At least half his cast would be filled with signatures by now, instead he felt like a real loser.

And that's how he felt for the rest of the day. No one offered to signed his cast, and when he asked, everyone made some sort of excuse. Darryl also said carpal tunnel, though he was actually wearing wrist cuffs so he was more believable; Rudy was rushing past him to the nurse's office, something about needing an inhaler refill; and Louise explained that her signature was too precious for a cast that would be thrown away eventually.

Lunch had started, and without Jimmy Jr there, Zeke sat by himself and ate his lunch quietly. He stared at his blank cast and sighed deeply. He was sure no one meant any harm by it, but he sure started to feel disliked by everyone at school. Why didn't anyone realize that signing a cast wasn't just for fun, but it made the person who had gotten hurt feel like they were cared about. He certainly wasn't feeling very cared about in that moment.

"A blank canvas!" Gene exclaimed in delight as he placed his food tray in front of Zeke and sat down. "How has no one taken this magnificent opportunity yet to draw a masterpiece on there?"

"You wanna sign it?" Zeke said, eager as he shoved his arm in front of Gene, his sharpie still in hand.

"I can't just sign! I gotta spruce it up! It's such a drab white color, people are going to think that's a real cast."

"It is a real cast."

"Oh. Well anyway, give me one moment." Gene stood and looked for a classmate who always brought a sketchbook and art supplies out to lunch so she could draw. She let him borrow her markers and when he came back he sat beside Zeke, pulling his cast close to him. "So what will it be?"

Zeke blushed, his heart beating faster with the look Gene was giving him, a mixture of enthusiasm and delight, all he could do was shrug. "Surprise me."

"One surprise coming up!"

For the rest of lunch Gene worked diligently on Zeke's arm, drawing an erratic, but colorful scene filled with flowers, animals, and butts. He only stopped to eat and figure out what to draw next.

"Dang, Gene, you really went to town on this," Zeke said as he moved his cast around to look at the colorful display now on his arm.

"Your welcome," Gene said, grinning. "Oh, before I forget!" He took Zeke's hand and pulled the cast close so he could sign it. "An artist must always sign his work!"

The two sat, admiring Gene's creative work and laughing at his kooky designs when Jimmy Jr rushed into the lunch and went straight to where the boys were sitting.

"Zeke, I'm here! I'm sorry it took so long, but I can sign your cast now!" He took the discarded sharpie from the table and popped the cap off, ready to sign his name on his best friend's cast.

"Wait, J Joo! Gene took a long time drawing on my cast, I don't want to cover any of his work with a signature."

Jimmy Jr. was visibly annoyed. He rolled his eyes and told Gene, "Great job, genius. You didn't leave any room for other people's signature!"

"Uh, well I didn't think anyone else would be signing his cast. But I did leave room on the outside part of his palm!"

Zeke turned his cast to see a small space where Jimmy Jr. could sign. "Or, there you go! You can sign right there! Just be careful not to sign over any part of Gene's work."

Jimmy Jr. groaned but he took Zeke's arm and signed on the small space allotted for him. When he heard that Zeke had come to school in a cast, he wanted to race over from the dentist so he could be the first to sign it and draw all over it. He knew Zeke would have loved that, but as always Gene was one step ahead of him. It aggravated him to no end, especially because Gene would act so clueless, like he had no idea he was driving a wedge between them.

"Thanks again for the artwork, Gene. This is my nicest cast art, to date!" Zeke said.

"Yeah, I guess it's alright," Jimmy Jr said.

"No problem!" Gene said. "Next time you get a cast, let me know and I'll give it that special Gene touch!"

"Will do!"

In that moment the lunch bell rang and all the student began walking to class. Zeke walked Gene to class, talking animatedly with him about his excellent artist skills while ignoring Jimmy Jr.'s sullen expression. After that, the day continued as usual, only now when Zeke looked down at his arm, he was reminded of Gene, and how cute he thought he looked when concentrating on a project. Zeke never doubted Jimmy Jr.'s love for him, they were best friends after all, but he was happy to know that he could count on Gene to also care about him, and give his life an extra pop of color when he needed it.


End file.
